Work: Filesystem

Started: 2025-01-04

Problem

Need a way to visualize filesystem folders in webseriously. Currently no database plugin exists that can scan a folder and represent files/folders as Things with navigable relationships.

Goal

Build DB_Filesystem plugin that:

1. Takes a folder path as input
2. Creates Things from files/folders
3. Creates Relationships (parent→child folder structure)
4. Each Thing gets a link Trait that opens the file via OS default app

Approach

Browser constraints:

• True "open in OS app" impossible from pure web app (security)
• File System Access API for folder reading (Chrome/Edge ~70% desktop)
• No Tauri/Electron—keep as web app
• Safari/Firefox users won't get folder picking (can still manually add files)

What we did

• Added filesystem to T_Database and DB_Name enums
• Created DB_Filesystem.ts with:
  • File System Access API integration
  • Recursive folder scanning
  • Thing creation per file/folder
  • Relationship creation (contains)
  • Link trait with file path (except for non-preview-able extensions)
  • Helper methods: readFileAsText, readFileAsDataURL, downloadFile, copyPath
  • Color coding by file extension
• Registered in Databases.ts (db_forType + db_next_get cycle)
• Fixed stale rootAncestry/root references after folder selection (clear caches in selectFolder)
• Created Preview.svelte component with full-screen overlay for file previews
  • Added T_Control.preview enum and preview stores to Visibility.ts
  • Styled preview buttons same as build notes (background, colors)
  • Copy-path button for manual OS opening (copies to clipboard)
• Features
  • Widget click on root (no folder) → triggers folder picker
  • Widget click on file → shows preview + grabs ancestry (non-previewable just grabs)
  • In D_Data, remove filesystem from ids_forDatabase if isSupported returns false
  • Arrow-right on a preview-able file also shows preview
  • Fixed preview for files without link trait (Widget_Title uses isPreviewable() directly)
  • Consolidated extension handling into enums (T_Image_Extension, T_Text_Extension, preview_type_forFilename())
  • Moved preview stores and show_previewOf_file() from Visibility.ts to Files.ts
  • Renamed interfaces to Snake_Case per style guide
  • Remember last folder choice (IndexedDB stores handle, fetch_all auto-restores, selectFolder saves)

TODO

• [ ] Handle non-previewable files gracefully in UI
• [ ] Add more preview types (PDF, audio, video)